Republic of Korea

South Korea,
officially called Republic of Korea, is located in East Asia. Seas surround it
from three sides, that is, the Sea of Japan/East Sea from the south and the
east, and the Yellow Sea from the west. Its population is 50 million (2012),
and the name of its capital is Seoul, where about 10 million people live. South
Korea is considered as a developed, highly industrialized country with a strong
economy, which has continued growing steadily since the 1960s. Based on its impressive
successes, it has been transferring agricultural technologies and rural
development model to a number of developing countries, and has forged
partnerships with major development organizations, like the World Bank. For
administrative purposes, South Korea is divided into a “special city” (Seoul),
a “special self-governing city” (Sejong), six “metropolitan cities”, eight
“provinces”, and a “special self- governing province” (Jeju).

South Korea is
a mountainous country. Its climate comprises four distinct seasons, i.e.
spring, summer, autumn and winter. The country has two sub-climates, one humid,
continental, and the other humid sub-tropical depending on the distance from
the sea coast. In the central region, winters are extremely harsh while summers
are hot and humid. Rains occur during the summer months. The fast pace of industrialization
of South Korea over the years has shrunk the contribution of its agricultural
sector to the national GDP from 23.3 per cent in 1970 to just 2.63 per cent in
2012. The government, through its pro-farmer policies, has heavily subsidized
the agricultural sector, which is mechanized, commercialized, and uses
substantial chemical fertilizers. The sector is considered important due to
food security and environmental concerns. Major land reforms in the late 1940s
and early 1950s transferred land ownership to the peasants. About 60 per cent
of the Korean farms are of less than one hectare in size, and only 4.6 per cent
are larger than three hectares. Rice is the main food crop, and other crops are
barley, millet, corn, buckwheat, soybeans and potatoes. Fruits include tangerines, citrus, pears, grapes,
apples, persimmons and strawberries. Among vegetables, cabbage, onions, red
peppers, and radishes are common. The cultivation of flowers has been gaining
popularity. Cash crops include cotton, hemp, sesame, tobacco, and ginseng. Livestock
(cattle, hog and poultry), forestry and fisheries are also important economic
sectors.

HISTORY OF EXTENSION AND THE ENABLING ENVIRONMENT

The history of
agricultural extension in Korea may have started around 570 years ago when,
according to a source (Eckert et al. 1990)), the Great King Sejong founded the
Hall of Worthies where most talented national scholars were invited to
undertake research activities in many areas including agriculture for the
welfare of people and food security. The king also tried to transfer relatively
more advanced agricultural practices from the southern provinces to the north
where farmers were using Chinese techniques that were not suitable for local conditions.
The king sent officials to the southern provinces to learn improved
agricultural practices leading to the preparation of a manual titled “Straight
Talk on Farming”, which was used to provide guidance to advisors and farmers to
tune their agricultural operations to the local conditions. The king was
convinced that farm families could obtain many times higher production by
following improved methods. In another development of historical significance,
the crown prince invented a rain gauge for the benefit of farmers. Using the
gauge, every village was required to report the rainfall and how much of that
was absorbed into the soil.

Early 20th
century

In 1906, the Agricultural
Demonstration Station was established under the Great Korean Empire. In 1907, a local financial association was
set up in Kwangju, which is regarded as the first modern cooperative in Korea.

From 1947 to
1956

In 1947, South
Korea adopted Land Grant College system from USA, and the National Agricultural
Development was established with a mandate to cover agricultural research,
extension and education. Although its education function was transferred in
1949 to the Ministry of Education, the strong bond established between research
and extension led to rapid transfer of agricultural technologies to farmers
through extension workers.

In
1948, the Ministry of Agriculture of South Korea was created. In the same year,
the Institute of Korean Agricultural Sciences was established, which is now
known as the National Academy of Agricultural Science. Around the late 1950s, formal agricultural
extension services was initiated in1956
and the Agricultural Bank was established as a joint-stock company as to handle
agricultural credit and banking.

From the 1960s to 1980s

In 1962, Rural Development Administration (RDA) was established with an autonomous status, which took over the responsibilities of both agricultural research and extension services. During the 1960s and 1970s, the focus of agricultural extension efforts remained on enhancing rice production in line with the government policy for achieving self-sufficiency in rice.

In 1970, the government launched Saemaul Undong (New Village Movement) with the philosophy of diligence, frugality and cooperation. The central government provided free-of-charge building materials to rural villages. Villagers, using their own labor, used these materials to mostly modernize toilet and kitchen facilities and expand rural road network. Extension staff actively promoted improved agricultural techniques to enable the villagers to enhance production and income. Later, the movement expanded to corporations and factories to increase productivity and to encourage sound labor management. Emphasis was also laid on identifying economic opportunities other than farming, and on linking rural and urban areas. In the 1980s, the movement went through turmoil due to political events and financial crisis, and its management was handed over to the private sector. The overall successful movement still continues, and its concept and experiences in its implementation have been exported to other developing countries such as Philippines, Cambodia and Mongolia.

In 1974, the Korea Seed & Variety Service (KSVP) was established. In 1977, South Korea achieved self-sufficiency in rice through the Green Revolution using researchers and thousands of agricultural extension workers. Starting 1981, a new scheme “Future Farmers” was started. Under the scheme, each year 1,000 future farmers, under 35 years of age, were selected as qualified candidates for receiving loans of maximum $ 175,000 to start farming and repay it over the next 15 years. This scheme lasted till 2006. Beginning the mid-1980s, the government started developing comprehensive development plans for the agricultural sector.

During the 1990s

In 1991, the implementation of the Agricultural and Rural Structure Improvement Plan was started. In 1994, the implementation of the Comprehensive Rural Development Plan was started. During the late 1990s, the government invested heavily in strengthening the agricultural and rural development sectors. In 1995, the Agricultural Research & Development Promotion Center (ARPC) was established, with the aim of promoting R&D in agriculture.

In 1997, the government changed the status of the agricultural extension staff from central to county/city government status as a part of its move towards democratization and localization. This change had negative effects for extension in the following ways:

a)Lowered morale of the staff

b)Decreased the number of staff (from 6,842 to 4,906)

c)Weakened linkages between the central and the local extension staff

d)Reduced opportunities for in-service training and education of the extension staff

e)Weakened linkages between agricultural research and extension

From 2000 till present

In 2002, the government started supporting the agro/rural tourism through “Green Tour Villages”. The objectives were to enhance farmers’ income, and provide first-hand experience of agriculture and rural life to urban residents. By 2006, the number of such villages had reached 190 and that of visitors 1.3 million.

In 2004, the government introduced the Comprehensive Plan on Agriculture and Rural Communities, and established the Ten-Year Mid- and Long-Term Policy Framework on Agriculture and Rural Communities covering the areas of agro-food, agriculture and rural development. In 2004, “One Company, One Village Community Movement” was started by the government that involved sponsor-relationships by private companies. Under the arrangement, the employees of each company visited a specific rural area at least once a year and bought agricultural produce directly from the farmers. The objective was to enhance the income of farmers. Within a period of two years, 14,498 relationships had been sponsored.

The Special Act for Improving the Quality of Life of Farmers, Fishermen and Promoting Development in Rural, Mountainous and Fishing Communities was passed in 2004. Its implementation started in 2005, involving 15 ministries and one government agency. In 2005, the government started a new “Guardianship System”. Under the system, experienced farmers or specialists like professors of agriculture could be designated as guardians of new farmers, with the government paying the consultation and educational expenses. Also, in 2005, the government launched the “Regional Agriculture Cluster Program”. The objective of this program was to develop regional networks among the academic community, research institutes, the industrial sector and local governments for the provision of technical and marketing assistance to farmers.

In 2005, the government introduced a pilot project “Direct Payments for Landscape Conservation”. Under this project, the government paid a certain amount per hectare in selected villages to those farmers who cultivated plants to preserve the traditional landscape. In 2006, about 470 hectares belonging to 1,000 farm households were covered by the project.

Around 2007, the government gave incentives to specialized farmers though the provision of special, low-interest loans for physical expansion of their farms, purchase of new farm machinery, and the renovation of orchard facilities. The subsidies for covering management consulting fees, started in 1998, were also continued.

In 2009, the National College of Agriculture and Fisheries was transferred from the Rural Development Administration to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. Presently, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has overall responsibility for public agricultural extension services. The Rural Development Administration, the autonomous organization under the Ministry, is the main public agency that provides extension services through decentralized local/county/city agricultural and rural development offices.

South Korea has emerged as a donor country, and operates an active and expanding program of technical assistance for developing countries, based on its very successful experiences of the Green Revolution, Saemaul Undong Movement, pro-farmer public policies, and rapid industrialization. Initially, South Korea provided technical assistance to other countries within the context of the TCDC (Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries) modality, but later, technology transfer has been done through bi-lateral and multi-lateral cooperation using platforms like Korea Project of International Agriculture (KOPIA), Asian Food and Agriculture Cooperation Initiative (AFACI), and Korea-Africa Food and Agriculture Cooperation Initiative (KAFACI). A significant number of developing countries in various geographical regions have benefitted from the agricultural technology transfer program of South Korea.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) has overall responsibility for public agricultural extension services. This responsibility is carried out by the Rural Development Administration, which is located within the Ministry but enjoys autonomous status like a separate institution.

The Rural Development Administration (RDA) has been responsible for agricultural extension and research services since its creation in 1962. Its organizational structure shows, among other organs, separate bureaus for research policy and extension service. The Extension Service Bureau comprises the following divisions:

In the past, all extension services were managed and provided from RDA’s central office through county/city offices. This, however, changed since the devolution was implemented in 1997. Presently, extension services are provided, besides the national office of RDA, by the Provincial RDA offices, City/County Extension Centers, and Farmers’ Counseling Offices, which are operated by the City/County Extension Centers’ staff in collaboration with farmers’ associations, notably the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation.

In 2000, the RDA had an elaborate organizational structure for research and extension (Choi et al. 2000). Besides having several national level offices, RDA had nine provincial agricultural research and extension services, seven special district agricultural technology centers, 150 city/county agricultural technology centers, 36 regional offices and 534 farmer consulting offices. The research services comprised at least two national level offices, 12 intramural agricultural research institutes and experimental stations, and 31 region-specific crop experiment stations linked to the previously mentioned provincial agricultural research and extension services and the special district agricultural technology centers. In 2009, the human resources in RDA’s Extension Service Bureau were as shown in Table 1:

Table 1: Human Resources in Extension Service Bureau, South Korea as of 2009

Some of the specific activities undertaken on regular basis by the RDA are as follows:

a)As both agricultural extension and research are under the RDA, results of the research conducted are passed on to the extension services with the aim to improve farm management, and to develop marketing strategies to enhance the value-addition of agricultural products.

b)RDA supports the specialization of local agriculture. In 2009, as many as 12 types of specialization projects were operating in 51 cities and counties.

c)RDA’s capacity building activities include the training of field-technology experts, and the provision of long-term education to farmers at a farmers’ college.

d)RDA maintains a group of specialists called “Green Technology Field Supporters”. These specialists are responsible for visiting farmers' fields and resolving complex farming issues on the spot in technical areas such as entomology, plant pathology, growth disorders, etc.

e)RDA maintains a Hotline Service for farmers, and operates a Client Support Center that handles on-line mail, regular mail, and off-line calls for support.

f)RDA supports the government’s Agricultural Machinery Rental Service for farmers by publishing guidelines and other relevant information and providing rental management software.

g)RDA maintains a website on Soil Information System, which provides information on topics such as best cultivation site, soil’s chemical properties, etc. to enable the farmers to choose most suitable crops suiting their soil and use optimum amounts of fertilizer and water.

RDA has a vast network of agricultural research institutes and experimental stations. The main research organizations under the RDA are: National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS), National Institute of Crop Science (NICS), National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science (NIHHS), and National Institute of Animal Science (NIAS). All these institutions are engaged in generating improved technologies. RDA ensures active collaboration between the research institutions and agricultural extension for the benefit of farmers and other interested parties.

Universities and Colleges

Universities and colleges are not in the forefront for the provision of extension services. They, however, offer academic programs in various agricultural and rural disciplines including agricultural extension, conduct research studies, offer consulting services, and organize short training courses in technical subject-matter. A few examples of South Korean universities/colleges with faculties of agriculture, livestock, veterinary medicine, natural resources, forestry, forestry and rural development are as follows:

Chungbuk National Universityhttp://www.cbnu.ac.kr/eng/: Established in 1951; located in the southwestern part of Cheongju, the provincial capital of Chungbuk; has College of Agriculture, and College of Veterinary; has the Center for Advanced Horticultural Technology and Research with the status of a regional research institution; maintains exchange relationship with 76 institutions in 30 countries.

Seoul National Universityhttp://www.snu.ac.kr/: Established in 1946; located at Gwanak, Seoul; has College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and College of Veterinary Medicine.

Sunchon National Universitywww.sunchon.ac.kr/: Established in 1935 as Sunchon Public Agriculture School; located at Sunchon Jeollanam-do and has College of Life Science and Natural Resources, which has, among other departments, Department of Well-being Resources, Department of Plant Medicine, Department of Animal Science and Technology, Department of Agricultural Economics, Department of Forest Resources, Department of Horticulture, and Department of Bio-Environment Science; it also has School of Education, which has Department of Agricultural Education.

Kangwon National Universitywww.kangwon.ac.kr/english/: Established in 1947 as Chuncheon Provincial Agricultural College; located in Chuncheon-si, Gang won-do; offers degree programs in agriculture and life sciences, forest and environmental sciences, animal life sciences, and veterinary medicines besides several other disciplines.

Agricultural Cooperative Collegehttp://ww.nonghyup.ac.kr/: A private institution, established in 1962 and located at Goyang, Gyeonggi; operated by the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation.

Non-Public Institutions

Private sector

Although there is a lot of commercial agricultural activity going on in South Korea, there is no evidence of any private, commercial company providing extension and advisory services to the farmers. The provision of decentralized public extension services at no cost to the farmers remains the prerogative of the Rural Development Authority. The Advanced Agricultural Technology Expo (AATE) was held in South Korea in December 2013, which was claimed as the biggest market place for agricultural innovative technology, machinery and materials. The event was organized by KINTEX and supported by the South Korean government.

Non-governmental organizations

South Korea has many think tanks, consulting companies and development-focused groups. However, there is little information available on any local or international NGOs involved in agricultural and rural development activities in any significant way. A few examples of NGOs based and/or working in South Korea are as follows:

Good Neighborshttp://www.goodneighbors.org : A South Korean international NGO, founded in 1991; considered as the largest NGO in the country; headquartered in Seoul, but has a main office in Los Angeles as well; involved in community development, health and sanitation, advocacy (education and vocational training), and emergency relief projects and programs; has field offices in a number of countries

Council for Overseas Development Cooperation (KCOC)http://www.ngokcoc.or.kr/english/: A South Korean NGO, established in 1999; an association of about 66 NGOs (one of them is a South Korean NGO “Canaan Farmers’ School”) involved in implementing development and aid projects with the aim of eradicating poverty around the world

The Asia Foundationhttp://www.asiafoundation.or.kr: An international NGO, with office in Seoul; works in collaboration with the Korea Development Institute (KDI) on a pro-poor growth and development cooperation program

Farmers-based associations, cooperatives and societies

There are several active farmers-based associations in South Korea. However, it is doubtful whether any of them provides any extension or advisory service. It is because the government provides subsidies and operates several programs in support of farmers mainly through the Rural Development Administration, which is also responsible for providing extension services at no cost to the farmers. A few examples of farmers-based organizations are given below:

National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NACF)www.nonghyup.com (in Korean): The biggest farmers-based cooperative organization with millions of farmers as members or associate members; established in 1961; based in Seoul; provides a variety of services such as marketing, supply, banking, and insurance; services support farmers from the field through to the market and cover production, processing, and marketing; owns Korea Agricultural Cooperative Trading Company, Ltd. (KACT), which specializes in export and import business; also offers livestock services including production, processing, marketing, and extension advice; served 1,139 regional cooperatives and 84 commodity cooperatives in 2006

Korean Women’s Peasant Association (KWPA): www.kwpa.org: Founded in 1989; aims at improving the status of women farmers as well as sustainable development; leads the food sovereignty movement; was recently awarded the Food Sovereignty Prize in New York

Korea Organic Farming Association (KOFA): Provides technical assistance to farmers in organic farming; has 24 provincial offices in the country

Korean Natural Farming Association (KNFA): Established the Natural Farming Life School in 1995

Korean Seed Association

Federation of Farmers and Fishermen of Korea

Jangsu Livestock Breeders Association

TRAINING OPTIONS FOR EXTENSION PROFESSIONALS

Pre-service education may be pursued at any of the universities mentioned in a previous section. For in-service training, the following options are available in South Korea:

Any of the previously mentioned universities that either offers or could arrange need-based short training for extension professionals.

Food and Agriculture Officials Training Institute under the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

The International Cooperation Training Center (ICTC) normally used for training of persons from other developing countries.

National Agricultural Cooperative Federation

NGOs such as Good Neighbors

Any project on rural and agricultural development that has provision for training the extension staff

INFO-MEDIARIES AND INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) FORAGRICULTURE AND EXTENSION

The Ministry of Information and Communication www.mic.go.kr is responsible for ICT matters in South Korea, a country that topped among 157 countries in ICT development in 2013 for the fourth year in a row. In 2002, the country had 25,000 Internet Cafes. According to the World Bank, in 2012, the number of mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) in South Korea was 110.36. During the same year, the number of Internet users (per 100 people) in the country was 84.1. South Korea has developed an ICT policy containing long-term targets to be achieved both nationally and internationally. The following initiatives have been taken in the country for ICT utilization in agricultural and rural development:

South Korea was an early adopter of animal identification techniques and technologies, using general ear tags from 1978 to 1994, and RFID (radio frequency identification) since 2004.

A five-year Master Plan for Rural ICT promotion was launched in 2001. The objective of the plan was to prepare rural people for adjusting to new technological environment such as construction of databases, building agricultural information networks, developing software for agricultural management, and rural education to reduce the disparity between rural and urban people.

South Korea introduced a full beef traceability system in 2008 in the wake of the BSE scare to promptly identify food safety problems and ensure end-to-end traceability. South Korea also uses DNA markers to trace components of carcasses.

In 2008, the government established the Korean Trust Fund on ICT4D. The trust fund has supported World Bank projects that demonstrate cutting edge approaches to development problems, with a focus on ICT. The trust fund is integral to the World Bank work and helps the Bank in remaining a force for transformative development outcomes worldwide.

In partnership with South Korea’s Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST), and the Korea Education Research & Information Service (KERIS), the World Bank supports an annual global symposium on ICT and education issues for senior policymakers and practitioners every year in Seoul.

The Cyber Teacher Training Center in South Korea is using the Internet to provide better professional development opportunities to the teachers.

The Rural Development Administration (RDA) has a Division of Technology Information under the Farm Management and Information Bureau, which operates an Agricultural Information Service (AIS). According to a source (Singh, 2006), the AIS has integrated all relevant national institutes into a high-speed network. Under the e-Government initiative, AIS follows the principle of Core Customer Relations Management System (CCRMS), which involves email consultation, short message service (SMS), and crop-specific virtual meeting rooms. In 2006, the system had registered 35,000 farmers and 8,000 extension workers and researchers. A database of agricultural technologies is maintained and relevant information to the users at large is provided through a special home page at the bureau’s website http://ccss.rda.go.kr.

The website also offers questions/answers and frequently asked questions (FAQ) service for interested farmers. About 100,000 visitors use this service every month. Voluntary participation of researchers and scientists helps in providing rapid response to solve technical problems faced by the farmers. RDA also provides SMS through cellular phones for market prices of agricultural commodities for the benefit of farmers and market intermediaries. Internet-based, and through CD-ROMs, training courses on farm management are offered in attractive, colorful presentations for farmers and extension workers. About 1,000 persons enroll annually in these courses. The AIS also maintains a knowledge portal for agricultural sciences and technology where individual researchers and experts interact with one another.

Chang, K-S. (2002). E-Korea – Korea’s ICT Policy & Key Success Factors. PowerPoint presentation made by the South Korea participant at the International Symposium on “Information and Communication Technologies and the Information Society”, held in Algeria; 9-11 December 2002

Cho, G-R. (2011). South Korean Strategy for Agricultural Technology Transfer to Developing Countries: Case of Rural Development Administration. Paper prepared for U.S.-Korea Dialogue on Strategies for Effective Development Cooperation, hosted by the Asia Foundation Korea Center for U.S.-Korea Policy; October 17-18, 2011

Choi, J-H. (2006). Agricultural Cooperatives in Korea. Paper presented at the 2006 FFTC-NACF International Seminar on “Agricultural Cooperatives in Asia: Innovations and Opportunities in the 21st Century”, held at Seoul; 11-15 September 2006

Li, T. (March 14, 2013). Saemaul Undong: South Korea’s mark on international development. Article published online in Development Roast, the newsletter of Institute for Advanced Development Studies (INESAD)

Shim, K-S. (2003). Application and Perspective of ICT in Agriculture. PowerPoint presentation made by the South Korea participant at the Expert Consultation on “Strengthening Regional Agricultural Information System: Role of ICT in ARD”, organized by APAARI (Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions) and FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific; Bangkok, 1-4 December, 2003

Singh, S. (2006). Selected Success Stories on Agricultural Information Systems. Bangkok: Joint publication of Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI) and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific

Snyder, S.A. and S.P. Choi (February 2012). From Aid to Development Partnership: Strengthening U.S.-Republic of Korea Cooperation in International Development; Working Paper. New York, New York: Council on Foreign Relations

Woong, K. (2004). Republic of Korea Country Paper; in Rita Sharma (ed.) Strengthening Agricultural Support Services for Small Farmers; Report of the APO Seminar on Strengthening Agricultural Support Services for Small Farmers held in Japan; 4-11 July 2001; pp. 128-136